Blacklight
by Darkford
Summary: Tonyo strives to find out what really happened during the permadis incident. Perhaps an urban legend and a revived platoon of soldiers can help him. Complete. Rated T for Blood, violence, and other sensitive parts of this story.
1. Blacklight

Tonyo's weapon - a custom N-Zap from his favourite brand, Krak-on - was nestled in his lap as he took a brief nap on a bench in the plaza. His friends, Mika and Liat, watched in amusement. They normally didn't see him so relaxed.

"It's funny," Mika commented, brushing her yellow tentacles behind her shoulders and placing one hand on her hip. "I know that losing Anasia hit him hard, but it's hard to imagine a time when he hasn't been constantly on his guard."

Liat shook his head. "What I can't imagine is what those icy, expressionless eyes of his used to be like. Surely he wasn't this cold before."

Mika kneeled down, and carefully prodded her foot, which was slightly misshapen from during the Permadis Incident. Standing again, apparently satisfied, she nodded in agreement to her roller-wielding companion.

"I guess I am limited to chargers since my foot got messed up, but I feel much worse for Tonyo. I'm sure he really liked Anasia, even though they only knew each other for a few minutes." she mused gently.

Just then, a familiar tone sounded through the plaza, waking their sleepy companion. The Squid Sisters, the most iconic pop group in Inkopolis, appeared on the screen.

"Good Morning, Inkopolis!" Shouted Callie from the screen. "Let's get right to the stage news today!"

Marie slumped and smirked at her cousin. "Come now, Callie, Don't be in such a rush." Regardless of this comment, the first stage icon appeared on the screen, and the squid sisters discussed tactical objectives in Urchin Underpass. The second regular stage caught the small group by surprise, and Tonyo visibly frowned.

"And we have... Walleye Warehouse!" declared Callie, excitably.

Marie replied, "Anyone remember the inkling-destiny story? I like that one." Afterwards, ranked battles came on, though the group ignored the rest of the broadcast.

"Hey, dude," Liat asked cautiously, "you wanna step out o' games for today? We could go do something else until the stages change again." To their surprise, he shook his head.

"I need to be out there. I might..." he drifted off into his own world, and suddenly snapped back, silently walking towards the towering structure in which battles were hosted.

He managed to get into a battle before Mika or Liat even got to the tower. Obviously others were enthusiastic about the stages. He was placed on a team filled with rollers - only one Splattershot Jr remained, and he was nervous. A clear sign of a beginner.

The other team, as they spawned, were revealed to be more than he expected. Three of them were celebrities in the inkling world, and he suddenly gulped, hopeful that they would at least get part of the map. There was almost no chance of winning. The buzzer went and they instantly went for the center field, while the splattershot and Tonyo decided to take the side paths of walleye warehouse.

He shot is way to the first side, carefully inking until his N-Zap's special was charged. With a click, his Inkzooka went off, and he quickly eliminated most of the players. One, however, remained.

He aimed carefully and landed a direct hit. The Inkzooka dissipated, only for Tonyo to find that the boy was unharmed. He seemed older and splatted a few of Tonyo's teammates before the celebrities got back in. Suddenly, with a booming voice, a screech let out, distracting everyone.

"Cheater," it hissed, and all looked up to a wall where stood a peculiar sight. It was armoured entirely in tight black gear which shielded it completely. In its hand was a weapon similar to Tonyo's N-Zap, but it was a dark purple. It shot the invincible boy in the face, sending him back to spawn.

As the players looked around, it ran off, and Judd insisted the match continue - but the invincible boy was nowhere to be seen, and at the very end, Tonyo discovered why.

The splattershot user walked up to him and exclaimed, "Wow! I can't believe I actually met Blacklight! He's so cool, just like the stories! That cheater is probably in custody by now!" Soon, the boy walked off again, not waiting for a reply. Tonyo left the area.

"Hey!" Mika scolded playfully, "Where'd you go, bucko?" She laughed.

"I encountered a cheater in Walleye, but some dude calling himself Blacklight got him first." At this statement, both friends gasped.

"Y-you say you met _Blacklight?_ " they stammered in unison. Tonyo stared unblinking at his friends. Mika continued, "That famed cheater-beater? _The Blacklight?_ " She exclaimed excitedly. Suddenly remembering the article he had read on cheater-beaters - inklings who hacked the system to get the better of cheaters who ruined the sport - he recalled that there was a particular focus on an inkling known only as Blacklight.


	2. An Interesting Encounter

After a few minutes of excited chatting, Mika and Liat decided to leave. They headed for their favourite restaurant on Bobtail street, and Tonyo was left to wander aimlessly in the plaza. He hoped he wouldn't get picked on for his colouration now he was alone.

Before long, some of the players he had gone up against left the lobby, and he felt obliged to thank them for their effort. He walked slowly only to be confronted by a strange sight.

A yellow-tentacled squid in a fresh updo was surrounded by girls. His dark blue eyes scanned the crowd, and he smirked, flattering the nearest one. Most of them who could not get any closer merely swooned at his prescense.

"What's with him?" muttered Tonyo as he tried to squeeze past. He was unsuccessful and decided to take another nap when the crowd suddenly parted. A young girl wearing a straw boater and a fresh new dress unseen in stores walked past, wearing some slightly weathered tan work boots.

"Wow, is she fresh or what?" muttered some onlookers.

"Ain't that Miss Spynu, the model for Krak-on's top designer?" Another mentioned. Soon it was full-fledged chaos as people tried to get a look. She shied away from them, her silent disposition shining through. Her eyes, green with purple make-up lining it, fluttered in uncertainty.

The squid who was previously being swooned over saw his chance, and jumped in to speak to her. She was too surprised to get away.

"Why, Spynu!" he declared, grasping her hands in an overbearing manner, "long time no see! Have you forgotten me already?" he asked, eyes looking deeply at her features.

"No, Charles," she muttered gently, though Tonyo sensed a hint of distaste, as if she really didn't like Charles at all.

"Thank Squid! What do you say to an evening dinner together, mi'lady?" he asked seductively, driving her to back up against a tree near where Tonyo was sitting. This Charles was making him mad, fast. Couldn't he see that she didn't want anything to do with him?

Charles then put is arm around her, and as if on cue, she screamed in a high voice and bit him. He reeled, and quickly glancing around, she laid eyes on Tonyo and decided he was her best bet. Rushing for the bench, he had no time to react before she pushed him up and hid behind him.

Charles merely stared for a few moments before he laughed nervously and asked, "So now you've got yourself a bodyguard? No problem." He walked up, but Tonyo moved first and grabbed Charles by the wrist before he could move in for a fistfight. After a few moments it turned into a contest to see who was stronger, with Charles trying to break free from Tonyo's grasp. Suddenly a sharp object flew at Tonyo, and Charles saw his chance. Knocking Tonyo down, he raised his fist only to be shot in the face with Tonyo's gun.

"Enough!" Spynu screamed, and Tonyo skittered out from under Charles, watching every move he made. Charles made no attempt to approach, but looked carefully at Spynu's features. With sudden shock in his eyes, he muttered, "You're not Spynu..." His skin turned three shades paler in a matter of moments.

The girl he had protected was now standing confidently in front of the two, as if everything had been an act. Her eyes stared relentlessly at Charles with resolve, as if she were preparing her mind and body. Her make-up wiped away almost effortlessly. It was obvious now that she was an inkling, and not a sea urchin.

"I wondered if you'd recognise me," she muttered eerily, her prior charm gone. It seemed almost creepy now, as her feet stepped shakily towards him, one at a time.

"I want revenge..." she said, loud enough for the plaza to hear. "I want my life back, Charles. I gave you your chances. Oh, so many chances..." she laughed, a broken, unhealthy laugh that hurled through the plaza as she lifted her straw hat. Underneath were a pair of mangled tentacles, and in her eyes was pure hatred. Charles seemed about to faint.

"No..." he whispered, his mask of perfection gone. "you...died!"

"Oh yes, I died, alright." she replied simply. "All thanks to you. One day soon, Charles, justice will be served. Oh yes," she laughed manically, "Justice will catch up to you tenfold. You'll be lucky to leave alive after I deal with you." She was right up next to him now. Her straw boater hung on her back, and her breath was dangerously thin as she placed her shaky hands on his shoulders, holding him in place.

"Trust me," she whispered. "You will face the music."

And with that, she was gone. There was no poof of smoke, no pop, no magic dust. All that remained was a single straw hat. Her hat. A hat covered in life-ink and deadly oil, laying right in front of Charles.

Charles fainted.

Tonyo decided to take matters into his own hands. He stepped forward, and taking off his coat, he used it to carefully package the hat. Then, not really caring what happened to Charles, he went home.


	3. Nighttime Visit

Tonyo threw his Krak-on Zap onto the table in his lounge and sat down, the mysterious hat in his coat. He moved it to a box in the basement, promising himself that he would investigate - but he was already certain upon the owner. It just didn't make any sense.

"Why would she have Anasia's straw boater?" he mused, as the squid sisters signed off on the TV and he flicked the remote to turn off the machine. Perhaps now he had his lead which would take him to the final conclusion - what really happened to Anasia? He knew the doctor had lied, but he didn't know anything else. Finally, though, he had a clue. A very strong clue.

He awoke the next morning to a tapping on his door, and fully expecting a person to be there, he was surprised to find no-one there. He looked around, and only after searching a bit did he find a boy lying next to his 'out' garbage pile. It seemed the boy had thrown a rock to the doorbell.

The boy was short and slender, and wore a black inky rider and a mask which had also been painted a pure shade of night. His shoes - a pair of metal boots - set his image to that of a gangly teen. His tentacles were not visible, but the ink coming from a scratch on his face gave away his race. Tonyo dragged him inside and lay his limp body on the sofa.

"Thanks," he muttered hoarsely, barely managing to breathe and speak simutaneously. He seemed a little roughed up, but all his wounds were old. "I fell over and-" he paused momentarily - "hurt my leg. Can't stand." he looked famished more than anything, and before long he was sitting up and eating a large Octo Pie after a huge Hot Dogfish.

"Heavenly," he muttered between mouthfuls, then swallowed. "thank you so much." he looked at him carefully. Tonyo looked back.

"Uh," Tonyo said uncomfortably, "I'm Tonyo. You are?" he looked expectantly, but the boy shook his head.

"It doesn't matter." he said, refusing to reveal anything. "Just call me whatever you want to."

Just then, Tonyo detected a hissing in his voice. Could it be...?

He thought quickly and acted quicker. "I will call you Blacklight, then," he said, hoping it would answer his question. It did, and it also earned him a few pieces of half-digested Octo Pie on the empty plate.

"You.. have sharp eyes," he stated, staring. "How did you know?"

"Your voice. Same hissing sound." was his answer as he stuffed a large piece of Catfish Burger into his mouth, chewing slowly. The boy looked at his feet sadly.

"I should go," he said finally. "but I can't. I cannot walk," he stated, looking sheepishly at Tonyo. "I would appreciate you not talking about me. Please," he added. Tonyo stared at Blacklight with a newfound respect. His appearance did not define his character, and Tonyo found him a much nicer personality than people seemed to think.

Suddenly, a rapid banging ensued, and two faces appeared at the door.

"Oh, not Agents 1 and 2," he said in exasperation. The door opened on its own, and Tonyo realised one of the two new faces had picked his lock.

They were interesting faces, at least. A purple-tentacled squid wearing a purple inky rider and a beanie entered first, followed by a taller, green-tentacled inkling who was wearing a white rider, a hygiene mask and a bandana. They walked directly to Blacklight and began fussing over him.

"Agent one, agent two," he complained, "Don't just barge into a guy's house like that!" He shook his head apologetically. "I'm sorry." he said to Tonyo.

Agent 1 looked carefully at Tonyo with a playful expression on her face. Her shades hid her eyes, but definitely did not interfere with her vision.

"Hey!" Agent 1 cried, pointing at Tonyo. "You're the kid Blackie saw during his cheater raid! The one who shot perfect inkzookas!" At this, both Tonyo and Blacklight blushed profusely.

"Calm down, Agent 1," Agent 2 scolded his counterpart. "You're being hyperactive again." his voice, similarly to Blacklight's, was raspy.

After some discussion, they somehow came to have supper there, and Blacklight explained their roles. Agents 1 and 2 were retired war veterans of sorts, who hacked the system to help Blacklight stop cheaters. He was the face of the operation, but the Agents were behind technicalities. Agent 1 found the game that was wrong and Agent 2 identified the player cheating. Blacklight was there to be the 'action man', and jump in to save the players at risk because of cheaters.

"You know," Agent 2 mused, "You and Blacklight seem to have hit it off; so to say, you're compatible," he announced. "you should work with him." Tonyo jumped at this suggestion, and Blacklight began to stutter and speak rapidly. Nothing made sense and Agent 2 went on.

"Blacklight is very antisocial," he continued. "he really needs another friend on the field other than us. We even have a spare power suit in your ink colour, believe it or not." Tonyo thought for a while about it. Surely, it would be more interesting than waiting for a battle that used cyan so he could play at all, and he would easily sustain himself with his night job. He came to a decision.

"If Blacklight is willing to have me along, I'll go for it," he said simply. "If I'm not welcome, no matter." Blacklight looked down at his ice cream and fiddled with the spoon until finally he replied.

"Yeah, I guess it is a good idea." he admitted. "As long as I can go it alone sometimes." Agents 1 and 2 suddenly celebrated, and soon Tonyo was dragged away to be inducted into the protective arms of his newfound friends.


	4. First Cheater

Blacklight suited up almost instantly, and began walking confidently. Their hideout was confortably furnished, almost like a teenager's cottage, with TV's and a fridge full of junk food and messy floors and beanbags. Tonyo had been fitted into a suit much like Blacklight's, but it was pure white instead of black.

The functions of the suit explained briefly and concisely by Agent 2, Agent 1 bounded over with his cheater-beater weapon - a remodeled N-Zap exactly like Blacklight's. Its sleek design was astounding, yet the weapon functioned similarly. It was accurate and had good range, and was easily becoming one of his favourite weapons.

"Alright," Agent 1 said, smiling at the two. "Let's get started with your first mission."

Tonyo did not expect to be in action so quickly, but he decided complaint was futile. He followed Blacklight closely, making sure to note how he ran through alleys and climbed buildings. Soon, a voice crackled in his head, and Agent 1 ran through the basics.

"Map is BD, player is player 5 of blue team," she instructed, and Blacklight slapped his head. Tonyo assumed it was common for teams to have extra players. They approached Bluefin Depot as the sun was setting, and only reached it by the time all one could see was light on the horizon. Fortunately, the map was still in rotation and they managed to find the player.

"Our main problem is finding out which player is cheating his way in." He looked cautiously around, and Tonyo spotted two blue-tentacled players chatting. He pointed and explained his reasoning.

"Yes, they probably would work in groups. Good thought. Yes, I'm certain, I can hear them discussing it. Let's get them both. You go for the thin one on the right; I'll aim for Mr. Bulky roller on the left. On your mark." He began.

He stood, and Tonyo quickly followed, a shill shriek coming from Blacklight before he stated simply, " _Cheater"_. They approached from either side, and being cornered, the two players tried to warp away, but were too slow. They were splatted simultaneously, and were trapped on the spawn.

"Our work here is done," Blacklight whispered. "There's still two minutes for the other team to catch up." They left the area swiftly, and Agent 2 complimented them and their teamwork and swift actions.

"To be honest," he said, "I thought you two would take longer to find the cheaters. And if Blacklight was alone it would have been difficult to get them both." Blacklight's shoulders visibly drooped, but he said nothing. They travelled to their respective homes, and soon Tonyo was fast asleep, dreaming of tomorrow.

He awoke to a knock on his door, and to his surprise a sea urchin in tan boots walked in, then demanded he shut the door. Complying, the disguise was soon removed, revealing the bearer as Blacklight.

"Thank you, Tonyo," he said, a sigh of relief escaping his lips. "I was nearly mobbed. It is unfortunate that I must play the role of a model from time to time, but it certainly does give me a good identity to hide behind. " He placed his beanie on the table and shook himself awake, his anchor tee and shorts loosening.

"Are you, perhaps, Miss Spynu?" Tonyo inquired, and not for the first time Blacklight sputtered in disbelief.

"Do you play guessing games often?" he snapped back. "You seem to know more than you should." He suddenly shook himself. "Sorry, that was too rude. Just - uh - don't say anything next time..." He sat down, then noticed a drop of oil on the floor.

"Is my straw boater here?" he inquired, but his answer came in the form of a box in which Tonyo had stored it. He stared nostalgically at the hat.

"A girl gave me this before she died," he said sadly, his eyes drooping.

"I, uh..." Tonyo remembered his friend's request and decided to remain silent. They almost naturally left together for the plaza, without speaking another word.

Their quiet walk was interupted by the morning news. The squid sisters, Callie and Marie, opened the news with a special report.

"We've got some special news before we annouce the stages!" she exclaimed.

"W-What is it? What is it?!" Marie asked, excited.

"It seems Blacklight, a local hero, has enlisted the help of a new friend, unofficially nicknamed 'Starnight'! He appeared for the first time last night during a mission. Many are hoping he's here to stay!" Callie gasped from the long explanation.

"Ohh, what a cutie!" Marie exclaimed, looking longingly at the screen. "I wonder how Starnight and Blacklight know each other!" After this interesting remark, they quickly moved on to stage news, as the inklings around quietly discussed the issue. Among the voices he heard a familiar pair, and naturally walked over, Blacklight, dressed as Spynu, in tow.

"Well! If it isn't Tonyo!" cried Mika, who rushed up and hugged him, much to the annoyance of Blacklight. Liat walked up behind, and soon they were talking like always, until Liat brought up Tonyo's companion.

"So buddy, what's up with the cutie you have in tow? She a friend of yours?" he asked.

"Ah, just an acquaintance for the time being." he said simply, and Blacklight blushed and hid quietly in Tonyo's shadow.

"Wait a second," Mika said, creeping around Blacklight suspiciously. "You look familiar." Blacklight stood stock still in fear.

"You're Miss Spynu!" She exclaimed suddenly, making Blacklight sigh in relief. Mika began to fuss over Blacklight like a moth to a candle. Blacklight looked ready to set something on fire. Regardless, they were soon friendly to each other, and gossip began to spread. Tonyo was impressed by how well Blacklight handled girl talk.

"-and people are saying that some players are gathering together to install some sort of power over the Inkopolis tower system." She shivered. "Scary stuff."

"Indeed," Blacklight's feminine voice chimed. "I hope it works out to be a false alarm. I doubt even the cheater-beaters could fight them alone." Blacklight shook his head, but was interupted by Liat.

"There's a group of skilled inklings getting ready to fight. They're all hoping Blacklight and Starnight will go help them." He informed them, causing Blacklight to become very interested.

They chatted, then decided to part ways. Tonyo and Blacklight were left standing idly in front of Inkopolis tower. From the plaza, they could see the great Zapfish and the viewing platform, and decided to visit the non-battle floors of the tower, though it was designed for those who could not produce ink like Jellyfish and shrimp. The two inklings walked carefully towards the top, and soon were reaching the light at the top of the stairs when a yell went through the building.

Instinctively, they pulled their weapons and climbed faster, hissing sounds coming from above. Jellyfish hobbled down past them, and they finally managed to get past after three quarters of the occupants had left. They were met by a very unsettling sight.


	5. The Octolings

Charles was standing with his roller above him, as he was about to smash it down on two unarmed Octolings. How the Octolings managed to get there, Tonyo did not know, but he was sure killing them wouldn't do anyone any good. Blacklight pulled an octobrush from his pack and whisked the Octolings away just in time, before dropping them in a corner and beckoning Tonyo.

Tonyo ran quickly to grab Charles before he made another attempt. "Don't do it!" he yelled, angrily. "You want another great turf war or something?!" As he chewed out Charles, who had been so shocked that he dropped his roller, Blacklight quickly pinched the weapons the Octolings were holding and dropped them in her pack, unnoticed. The two huddled together in fear, though one of them seemed more confident.

"I won't let you hurt us!" She screeched in a heavy, hissing accent. Her charge grabbed her shoulder gently, as if she was going overboard, but she payed the child no mind.

"Then we won't hurt you," Blacklight said simply as he adjusted a speakerphone on his head. Carefully, he tested it, and soon he was rapidly speaking to the familiar voice of Agent 2.

"Bring them to the base," he replied quickly, before the connection blipped out as a new game began. Blacklight put away his speaker and grabbed the female Octoling firmly.

"Come along," he said, trying to be as intimidating as possible. "you have a lot of questions to answer, and being agreable is always a good start with the higher-ups." She nodded, as if she realised that the inklings there would let her leave, and the youth followed her cautiously. Tonyo followed about a car length behind, just in case, but thankfully the two Octolings went quietly all the way to the secret base, and even agreed to go blindly through the sewers.

Once they arrived, the two Octolings were led into the lounge, where Agents 1 and 2 were waiting impatiently. Agent 1 quickly approached the youthful Octoling, and the female soon became protective.

"Don't you dare touch him!" she screamed, shocking everyone. The little boy began to protest, but he was already being smothered by a huge hug from the female. She began repeating reassuring phrases, but Tonyo was almost certain that it was more for her nerves than for the boy's.

She stopped sobbing and awkwardly apologised. "I need to protect him. He's the future of the resistance." She fondly stroked his tentacles, which lay lopsided over his forehead. "There aren't many males left at all. DJ Octavio has taken this as liberty to be cruel to the people and treat the men like possessions. That monster." she held her head low, and no one doubted the honesty of her words. No liar would be so reckless.

"How do you know DJ Octavio so well?" Agent 1 asked inquisitively. "Gramps said that he only lets a select few even know about his name." the female looked up and sobbed again, and the small boy dragged her to a bean bag and laid her to rest.

"I'll tell you," the boy said, smiling at Agent 1. "Amnina is just tired. She told me what was happening." The Agents nodded respectfully, urging him on. Blacklight brought in tea and placed it in front of him.

"It all started when I was born," he began, "so forgive me if I'm a little fuzzy on this part. But I do know that I'm one of very few males left. My older brother, Mr. Delan, is the only other in any kettle for miles." He sighed at his sister, who had exhausted herself to the point where she didn't even resist when Agent 2 patted her gently on the shoulder.

"My name is Markie," he continued, proud of the name. "DJ gave me the offical name Donn Markor, but I think that name is way to moldy." He cringed at the thought. "My sis, Amnina, was abducted along with me and taken to live with DJ as his right-hand folk. He wanted Amnina for a wifi."

"A wife, you mean?" Agent 1 asked, engrossed in the shocking story. Markie nodded.

"Yup. Amnina didn't wanna be a wiff, I mean, wife, so she escaped with me in hopes the inklings in Inkopolis would be willing to help her." He shook in fear. "There are a lot of people here. They were all scared of us, especially Mr. Foxface. He was so scared he tried to kill us!" He shivered again, but Blacklight burst into uncontrolable laughter.

"What's so funny?!" he cried indignantly at Blacklight, who was practically choking. Blacklight recovered and breathed for a few seconds before replying.

"Mr. Foxface!" He laughed, barely audible. "That's the best thing I've heard for years about that jerk! I just knew I was going to like you, Markie! I'm in if I can help!" he stopped talking and focused on laughing, and even Tonyo couldn't help letting out a chuckle or two. Agents 1 and 2 merely stared at the scene in confusion as Amnina recovered.

"My name in the force was DJ Onya," she said, distracting everybody. "But I'd rather be called by my birthname. I don't even want to think about that jerk of an octo!" she cried profusely, and though she was still crying, she had recovered considerably.

"I need your help," she begged. "I don't really care what happens to me. But my friends and I - from the resistance - are trying to overthrow Octavio and prove that we can live peacefully with inklings again. It's only because of Octavio that all this great turf war business began in the first place." she stopped crying, and standing tall, she let her eyes stare deeply into those of her new acquaintances. Agents 1 and 2 glanced at each other.

Finally, Agent 1 said, "What we do with you will be decided by our ultimate leader."

"He doesn't like Octolings much, so you'd better be on your best behaviour," Agent 2 added.

Amnina gulped nervously. Markie looked excited.

"We won't dissapoint you, Ma'am!" he cried happily, as if certain he was finally out of the rough. Before long they were walking through some underground tunnels in the base and made a stopoff in the kitchen.

"That reminds me," Blacklight commented, "you two probably haven't eaten in a while. I'm sure we could whip up some crabby cakes for Wisey before we present you." The two suddenly became very interested.

"Crabby cakes?" Markie asked, his mouth open. Agent 2 laughed and soon they were baking a sweet treat for 'wisey'.

"Oh, we have some extras," Agent 1 stated, surprised.

Agent 2 rolled his eyes. "I bet gramps changed the recipe so we would make more than we needed. Ah well, we'll just give 'em to these two," he said, pointing at the Octolings who were watching hungrily. "I'm sure it'll soothe their nerves." Soon the two were each digging into a crabby cake.

"Thish ish delishy!" Markie said between bites, while Amnina was too preoccupied eating to say a word. She seemed to like it more than anything in the world, and soon she was walking with a full stomach towards the leader's office.

Tonyo had never actually met 'gramps', although he knew that he was related to Agents 1 and 2. Apparently, he had fought in the great turf war and lead a famous platoon through enemy lines using seemingly useless weapons which doubled as a walking stick and a disguise in a bamboo forest.

The door opened, and inside was a small old man who was debating the orientation of a bunch of badly taken photographs of some octarians, cousins of the Octolings. Beside him was a large snow globe. Inside that was an octarian wearing a very tough-looking hat and holding two wasabi sticks in his tentacles. He suddenly tried to escape when he saw Amnina and Markie, and burbled rapidly in a foreign tougue.

"DJ OCTAVIO!" she screamed, reaching for the weapon but remembering it wasn't there. Markie hissed at the octarian, grasping his sister's leg tightly.

"YOU!" he burbled angrily. "YOU deserve to be REMIXED! SKRILLEXED! FACE THE MUSIC! HOW DARE YOU ABANDON YOUR LEADER!"

"SHUT UP, OCTAVI-JERK!" She screeched back. "YOU WILL NEVER BE OUR LEADER! NOT OF ME, NOT OF MARKIE, NOT OF ANYONE!" she breathed erratically. The yelling was bringing back her exhaustion fast.

Suddenly, the glass broke, and Octavio ran for her, as if to strangle her. As if on cue, a large amount of bluish ink cascaded down, and of what once was their leader, all that remained was a splotch of dark mangenta ink. Amnina covered Markie's eyes and stared unbelievingly at the puddle. She had no words for her feelings.

"I see we have some deserters come to help us," the old man said in a friendly tone. He pointed to DJ Octavio's splotch and said, "I meant to do that when Agent 3 sent him in the post this morning, but I couldn't figure out how to do it safely. Thanks for luring him out." He smiled graciously at the bewildered Octoling, who merely sputtered nonsensical words for a few minutes before collapsing to her knees.

Agents 1 and 2 explained briefly what had occured, and asked if she could stay in the base with her brother. The old man stroked is beard, deep in thought, before asking a very silly question.

"You two, yes or no answer," he asked. "Do you like crabby cakes?"

Both of them suddenly burst into a very enthusiastic yes.

"Good." he said, smiling, "Because you're having them for supper. The name's Cap'n Cuttlefish, by the way." And with this simple statement he walked off as if nothing had happened.


	6. The Squid Sisters?

After the two Octolings were forced into staying with the group, they seemed rather peaceful and kind. They went to a great effort to make sure they kept their privileges, and Cap'n Cuttlefish grew particularly fond of Markie. Blacklight and Tonyo continued their work, becoming a cultural icon, and soon they were practically a family.

One day, as Blacklight and Tonyo arrived at the base, they spotted Cuttlefish showing Markie how to hold an inkling weapon. He was musing over how skilled Markie was, and kept telling him about his grandsquids.

"Y'know me grandsquids," he said cheerily. "They're famous idols in Inkopolis! Callie and Marie! I'm super glad they still make time for me as Agents. They are so busy nowadays. "

Tonyo coughed suddenly on his Inkshake and sputtered, "Agents 1 and 2 are the _Squid Sisters?!"_ he cleared his throat and continued, "But isn't Agent 2 a guy? Have I been blind this whole time?" Cuttlefish merely nodded in approval.

"I wondered when you'd figure it out," he said, laughing heartily. " 'he' is Marie. Callie is Agent 1. I don't blame you for not realising - sometimes Marie is better than me at my own voice!" He laughed, and Markie followed him into the kitchen, where a fresh smell of Crabby cakes wafted through the door.

Blacklight laughed spontaneously every time he saw the squid sisters on TV that day. Tonyo was too shocked to object, and Blacklight had to assure him multiple times that Cuttlefish was telling the truth.

Soon, the Main broadcasting TV played the familiar jingle, and the squid sisters showed up on the screen. Callie began the show.

"Before we announce the stages today, we have some excellent news to share!" She boomed to the rolling cameras.

"Ohh, what is it?" asked Marie, looking to her cousin.

"We're receiving a theme for a new Splatfest beginning two weeks from now!" she exclaimed, and a small machine was brought into the room. Strange characters were written all over the machine, and Callie pressed a few buttons before the machine began to whirr. Soon, a theme was printed, and Marie leaned to get a closer look.

"And there you have it folks!" Callied cried, as the theme was displayed behind her. "This Splatfest's theme is Blueberries versus Bananas!"

Marie smiled. "I'll be going for Bananas, then," she said, smiling cunningly. "We'll trip them blueberries over like this is their bad comedy routine!"

"Say what you like," Callie replied, "But we'll be the ones getting the last laugh when we squeeze through your idea of defenses. Go Blueberries!" she cried, before the broadcast went to the current stages.

Blacklight murmured excitedly, "Oh, a splatfest. This will be fun. They'll bicker for hours over who's going to win and why. It's quite humourous." They continued walking, but Tonyo got an odd feeling that stares were coming his way. He brushed it off and followed Blacklight to the cafe they were to go to that day.

That night, quiet whispers were exchanged in the eerie alleyways of the metropolis known as Inkopolis. Inklings held strange weapons, tools and specials were exchanged, entire setups tinkered with. A smile crept over their faces as their leader, a yellow-tentacled figure, stood upon a toppled vending machine as a stage.

"Tonight," he proclaimed quietly, "we prepare. Tomorrow, we strike. Soon, we will overthrow Inkopolis as we know it; and we will soon rule the world as well." He cackled, and his cronies soon joined into an eerie laughfest, as the sun rose on the other end of the planet.


	7. The One-night War Begins

That morning the Inklings were uneasy. The Squid sisters were not on the air yet, and they were never late. Even Blacklight was concerned. He had not heard from them about delays. Tonyo walked over and stared inquisitively at the blank TV in the plaza, before an emergency broadcast played.

A pink-tentacled woman rose and began. "We are frightened to say that during the night, both Callie and Marie have disappeared. From evidence found, it seems a criminal group has squidnapped them!" she yelled, bringing the entire plaza to a halt. "We are currently searching high and low for them," she continued, "and request the watchful eyes of all the residents of Inkopolis to be on lookout for them!" the TV blipped off and suddenly inklings began running wildly around, until a tall boy with dark-blue tentacles dragged a small stage into the plaza and began to speak.

It seemed as if he were addressing a certain group of inklings instead of just random passerby, and not knowing what to do, Blacklight and Tonyo listened from the shadows.

"As Club Justice's leader," he proclaimed loudly, "I say we begin a manhunt. My colleagues and I will seperate you into teams, with each of my seven elites leading a party. Please sort among yourselves which team you will be following." Quickly the inklings congregated around seven skilled-looking inklings, all of which wielded a different kind of weapon.

The inkling on stage nodded happily and held a bamboozler to the sky. With a quick booyah they dissipated, but the tall inkling ran for a cafe and began working on a small laptop.

"Let's surprise him," Blacklight said suddenly, shocking Tonyo out of his focus. "They'll need help, and he's probably the leader of the group Liat mentioned. We'll change into our armour and suggest we help eliminate cheaters." Tonyo saw no problem with this plan, so they went to a public bathroom and swiftly changed, reappearing on the street as Blacklight and Starnight. Tonyo made sure to keep quiet, but it still garnered them attention.

They approached the blue-tentacled boy from behind. He was so preoccupied with battle plans that he didn't even notice them.

"How to get past enemy lines, when they'd have enough soldiers to cover both sides of Bluefin?" he murmured, panicking. Blacklight tapped the boy's shoulder reassuringly, and said in his signature voice, "There's a third path above the whole map. It may not counter inkstrikes, but no normal shots can get there, even from chargers." The boy turned swiftly, and his eyes widened in surprise. His beak twitched rapidly, as if he wanted to say something but didn't know the words.

Finally, after being dragged outside and patted multiple times, he stuttered, "B-b-Blacklight?!" he could barely breathe, but he soon recovered.

"We want to help you," Blacklight said simply. "Starnight and I. For justice." together they held out their hands, and carefully, the boy took them.

"M-my name's Blur," he said, smiling. "Blur Bobtail." Tonyo had to stop himself from reacting. _Surely, not Liat's older brother?_ he thought, though he realised that the similarities went right down to colouration.

They quickly devised a plan together. With Blacknight's knowledge of the maps, it was easy to pick out the best strategies and find out how to fight back against cheaters. Blur regained his confidence significantly by the time they said goodbye.

"We will return upon your call," Blacklight said, smiling. "We must gather together a few of our own allies for this fight." With this, Blacklight grabbed Tonyo's hand, and with a sudden lurching in his stomach, they were travelling quickly; but before long they stopped, and they had only gone a few hundred meters towards the grate in the plaza leading to the base. Tonyo had no time to adjust, and thought as he was dragged to the base, _so that's how miss Spynu disappeared._

He was quickly drawn inside to warn Cap'n Cuttlefish and the Octolings, but he was already hitching Amnina up with a bamboozler.

"This weapon means a lot to me," he said, staring right at her with more serious an expression than Tonyo had ever seen. "You must, I repeat, you _must_ not let this weapon go. It is a charger, and was used in the great turf war. Please take advantage of it, for my sake, when you go into enemy lines." Amnina nodded, carefully handling the bamboozler. It was light to her, and she was soon practising with the alien tool.

"Good timing," Cap'n Cuttlefish said, approaching the pair. "We'll be unlikely to defeat the cheaters alone, but we have to give it a shot," he proclaimed.

"I know they'll strike in Bluefin, but we'll just have to hope we don't get splattered to death out there." He mumbled to himself.

"We won't be alone," Blacklight said, tapping buttons on his phone to call Blur. "I have a plan, and all the members of Club Justice out be behind us. It will be a fair fight." He stopped, cancelled the call, and continued, "What should Tonyo and I do? I didn't even think of that. And how will we equip the inklings to combat the cheaters?"

Cap'n Cuttlefish was already answering, his confidence renewed. "You could sing to the squid sister's bestseller." he stated simply. "I have plenty of headsets, so only our soldiers would hear, and it energizes people. It would work perfectly. It was what the song was written for, actually." The plan was so good that before long, Blur arrived, carrying a large garbage bag in which to hold nearly one thousand earpieces. He looked around in amazement until he set eyes on Amnina.

"An Octoling!" he shouted, dropping the bag and drawing his Bamboozler. Cap'n Cuttlefish laughed.

"Don't be like that!" he requested, and Blur lowered his Bamboozler as Amnina approached. She seemed doubly as interested as he was. Cuttlefish continued, "I suggest you two work together to rescue me Grandsquids! I'm far to old to go runnin' a'gunnin' anymore!" They looked at each other with shocked expressions.

"The OCTOLING?" he asked.

"THIS GUY?" Amnina cried.

Everyone else laughed.

"You'll work well together," Cuttlefish claimed, laying shaky hands on the shoulders of each. "Both of you will be using bamboozlers. You can watch each other's backs. It was designed as a support weapon, after all." His warm smile brought them to a truce, and they soon began practising together, forcing Blacklight and Tonyo to sort out the earpieces before the battle. The pieces also seemed to act as an extra main attack buff, and all the inklings were happy to accept. It was nearly time to fight.


	8. Chapter 8-1 Singing

The night-time came, and the troupe of inklings prepared themselves, equipping their best gear and the weapons which lay closest to their heart. Separately they approached Bluefin Depot, aware that Inkopolis Tower would be unable to take them there without being noticed. No-one knew quite what would happen, but all were prepared for the worst.

"We must be wary," Blacklight told Tonyo, looking down from above. "Do remember that while the sole purpose of all these people at the moment is to hold back the traitors, we may find other drastic things at hand. Callie and Marie have set us up with some very versatile weapons which should let us send people to Inkopolis tower. Only use it if one of our men are dying. Understand?" Tonyo nodded, and placed his helmet carefully over his ponytail.

"I understand."

Tonyo was thinking about things. He had been working with Blacklight for a while now, and he still did not know Blacklight's real name, or how he came to work with Callie and Marie. He watched as Amnina discussed the situation energetically with Blur, who was losing his distrust and letting it give way to a different feeling. He wondered if Amnina even knew.

His mind wandered to think of the girl he had loved once. She hadn't even spoken to him, and yet he missed her greatly. Anasia had been such a lovely person...

He looked intensely at Blacklight. Surely, the black tentacles and bloodstains had simply been props to scare a stalker away; and yet he felt like there was something Blacklight was hiding. He recalled how raspy his voice was, and how clear and true it rang when he was acting as Miss Spynu. Could it be that, like Marie, he was masking his voice? Could it be...?

A bang sounded in the area and a large number of inklings using orange ink warped into the center of the field. The inklings in Club Justice leaped from their hiding places, and a huge turf war began.

"Let's go," Blacklight said, pointing to the beam overtop the entire area, but just then a large object flew down from the sky, crushing the pathway. A loud, obnoxious tune began to play, and Charles stood atop what looked like a disgusting metal table, except instead of legs it was a cage, and within the cage were Callie and Marie.

They didn't speak a word, and Tonyo assumed that they couldn't. Blacklight began to panic, but a reassuring, if small, hand laid itself on his shoulder.

"Hey Blackie," Markie said. "I made you a spaceship. You ought to use it for the music before we begin to lose." Blacklight turned to see a spaceship, about the size of a small living room. A synthesizer and a drumset were already on it, and at the instruments were Mika and Liat.

"So you're Blacklight and Starnight," Mika said, in pure awe. She stood at the drumset, sticks at the ready.

"My brother sent us here to help you," Liat continued, equally amazed. The two nodded and leaped onto the ship. It twirled, then rose, and Markie went to a computer at the back of the ship.

"Initiate Radio Override!" He cried, slapping his finger on the enter key. Suddenly the Depot was no longer filled with music. They didn't waste any time, however.

"Are you ready?" Blacknight asked, touching his voicechip. Tonyo nodded, and a familiar tune began to play as they rose above the stage and hurled disconnectors at the traitors. After a few successful disconnects, they took to the stage.

Blacknight began, his voice metallic but alive. Tonyo assumed the role of Marie, and soon they were singing in a valiant duet. It seemed to empower their team, and as they sang they could see Amnina and Blur working their way to Charles and the Squid Sisters.

As they sang into the night, the fight continuing below them, Tonyo had never felt more alive. He hoped that somewhere, somehow, his singing would finally bring him peace. He felt the sounds he remembered reverberating around him. Suddenly, he knew.

Anasia was alive. He was singing with her.


	9. Chapter 8-2 A few Bamboozlers

"Are you ready?" Blur asked Amnina, and she nodded confidently, showcasing her full tank, her bamboozler, and her gusto to her newfound friend.

Amnina had never felt so alive. Blur was courageous, loyal, kind - everything DJ Octavio lacked, he had to spare. She had never known that guys like him even existed. Even when she had tried to raise Markie, she realised that inside she had felt he would be the same; harsh, calculating, empty.

Blur had a magic to his eyes, emotion that ran through them. He smiled with his eyes, cried with his eyes, cared with his eyes - things Amnina had only dreamed people she met would do. She knew where she belonged now. She belonged here, with her brother and the agents and Tonyo and Blacklight. She belonged with Blur.

A sudden crash above them signalled the beginning of battle. Amnina curled in anticipation, grasping her weapon tightly. Blur relaxed, and loosened his muscles.

"Amy," he said, "loosen up. You'll just get stuck that way. We're not actually confronting anyone."

She relaxed, but moaned, "Please stop calling me that." She liked it really, but she had to focus. Their lives were on the line, if nothing else.

Together they found their way over to the spawn point which would normally spawn in a team. Above, the music that had been playing died out, and a familiar tune began to play. As Blur bopped to the sound, Amnina watched in amusement, but soon found herself equally full of energy.

"Those two are amazing," he said, glancing up at the spaceship where they were singing. "They really are modern-day heroes."

"If we don't move on, we'll let them down," Amnina prodded, and soon they travelled on, though they were forced to fight a few inklings in the pandemonium. Soon they were watching a strange yellow-tentacled inkling laugh atop a cage, where the squid sisters were kept. They seemed starved, and barely had the energy to watch the battle around them. The boy above them laughed in a maddened state, as if he had lost his logic.

"When we get close enough," Blur instructed, "We will both shoot that lock at the same time and grab the squid sisters. You take Marie, she's lighter, I'll get Callie. Once we have them, use the disconnector we were given to escape and take them to safety. Got it?" Amnina nodded, but she felt a lump in her throat as Blur began a countdown.

Three.

Two.

One.


	10. The Final Battle

SPLAT!

The cog locking the cage doors broke down in an instant, but in the fury of the battle only about five inklings noticed. They were quickly dispatched after a few well-placed Splash walls and two killer wails. Blur rushed into the cage and grabbed the purple-tentacled girl. Amnina hauled Marie onto her back and nodded to Blur, who held two Disconnectors in his hands. They threw them at the ground and disappeared, landing in Inkopolis tower.

"Let's get going," Blur said hurriedly, and Amnina followed his every step.

Back in Bluefin, the battle raged on, and Blacklight and Tonyo were singing themselves hoarse. They wondered how Callie and Marie managed to live through Splatfest.

Tonyo had been thinking something for the whole battle, and once he put two and two together, he suddenly realised what he needed to do to stop the onslaught. He had already noticed that they outnumbered and outskilled the opponent, and he had figured out their secrets. As the song came to an end, he leaped off the spaceship, N-Zap in tow, landing on top of the metal cage.

"How nice of you to join the party!" Charles exclaimed, recognising Tonyo instantly as Starnight. "It would be nice if you weren't in my way, though." He held a small object in his hand, which Tonyo recognised immediately.

A Permadisruptor.

They flew wildly past him, as he tactfully dodged each shot with precision. He wondered how many Charles could throw.

Blacklight stopped singing and ran to the edge to get a view. Tonyo was dodging permadisruptors left and right, as he tried desperately to get closer to Charles.

"You," he hissed, "You're responsible for everything! If only I had saved Anasia, things wouldn't be like this today!" He screeched, and Blacklight' eyes widened visibly.

"I knew it," Blacklight muttered, but the train of thought was stopped when Blacklight realised Tonyo didn't have much time. Any moment now he would fall victim to the same fate Blacklight had already faced. A fate where he would never fight in turf wars, a fate where he would never walk on his own again, a fate without freedom. Blacklight shook in fear, but decided at last that Tonyo was worth it.

Jumping down, Blacklight was just in time. Tonyo had twisted his leg, and Charles approached menacingly. His permadisruptor - his last one - was all he needed to end everything.

The Permadisruptor flew.

It hit.

And Blacklight fell lifelessly to the floor.

For a moment, all stood stock still as the tail ends of the battle began to disperse and the victor became obvious. Club Justice had won, fair and square, while most of the cheaters and those allied to Charles had been rounded up and sent to questioning. Tonyo dropped his N-Zap and gently tried to revive Blacklight.

He took away the permadisruptor.

He pulled a varsity jacket out of his armour pack, far too small for him now.

He even placed a bloodied straw boater on her head, but nothing would work.

He glared at Charles. Charles glared back. Neither had any weapons left to fight with.

The Inky way showed above their head, the clouds clearing away from the sky. The voices of the remaining inklings played through the vacated depot. Even the birds stopped chirping.

Silence.

Then, as if on cue, Markie dropped down and walked up to Charles.

"Go away, kid," Charles complained, backing away. He didn't like the look of the octoling, even if it looked harmless. Even if it had no weapon.

"What did you do to Anasia, mister?" Markie asked, and Charles stepped back even father. He stood at the edge of the cage, frightened by the knowledge and courage this Octoling child possessed. Surely, he would not be harmed by such a little kid.

"You killed her." Markie said, and Charles balanced on the edge, hoping he would scare the boy away.

Markie stepped forward, and with a sad smile, he said, "Goodbye, mister Delan."

Poke.

Charles - or rather, Delan - fell into the water of the depot. Unfortunately, the connection didn't save him from a worser fate.


	11. Splatfests and Acceptance

"You don't have to worry so much, I'm fine," Anasia protested, her strength returning to her. Tonyo fussed over her hospital bed, insisting that she take painkillers, or at least a crabby cake.

"I'm not hungry," she complained.

"You've been saying that all week. Now eat up." he handed her a beautifully crafted Crabby cake, and she was tempted into compliance. She ate slowly for effect, but her stomach asked for her to eat faster, and by the end of it she was plowing through a third one.

She had dropped the titles 'miss Spynu' and 'Blacklight'. Even if she had recovered from the ordeals they had faced, she would still never be able to have the movement she had before, and by now everyone knew who she really was.

Equally, Tonyo had dropped the title of 'Starnight'. He had said that Amnina and Blur wanted to take over, and that there were only two suits and headsets; but Anasia figured it was just his excuse for wanting to stay with her while she recovered.

"So, the splatfest," he asked, in a casual tone. "Which team are you for?"

"Blueberries," Anasia replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Callie and Marie want us to sing for the splatfest since their voices are still recovering. Do you think you're up to it?" He inquired, a worried expression on his face.

"Of course," she answered, smiling. "But Blueberries are gonna win, hands down."

"Are not," Tonyo protested. "Bananas are already winning the popularity poll." He looked outside at the long line of inklings hoping for a splatfest tee. The blueberries were getting served immediately.

"You'll see," Anasia countered. "Remember; the battles count for quadruple the popularity. We'll kick your arses." she laughed. "After I find my tan boots, that is." Tonyo quickly handed them to her, and together they headed for the trucks carrying the splatfest materials.

Markie was watching from the cupboards, and once they left, he went right to his sister and told her what happened.

"I knew it," she exclaimed, smiling to herself. "they _are_ interested in each other!"

Markie cocked his head and asked his sister what she meant.

She looked down at the boy. He would probably grow to be a celebrity one day. Stopping a war simply by poking someone? It was preposterous, but he had done it. For a moment, she figured he had earned it, but decided against the notion.

"You'll know when you're older, little guy," she said, smiling cheekily before following Blur towards the base. Markie was left alone.

"Silly Sis," he muttered to himself. "I already know what you think of that Blur kid." He looked at his pants pocket, and inconspicuously reread the love letter which was obviously intended for his sister from Blur.

"Inklings are weird," Markie thought to himself, and walked outside to go and choose a Splatfest team to cheer for. After all, he had already made some good friends during the fight. Now, he wasn't afraid to be himself.


	12. Prologue (Extra)

Tonyo gripped his personalised splattershot proudly. It was his first ink battle, and excitement ran through his ink-filled veins as his cream headband caught his panicked sweat. Around him were about six other inklings. Four of them seemed to know each other. He hoped he was on the same team as them.

" _Oh wait," he thought, mentally scolding himself. "This is four vs four."_

One of them, however, seemed a little different, in a nice way. She seemed less interested in being with them, and rather spent her time eyeing up a yellow-tentacled, blue-eyed inkling who had his hair up in a fancy tenta-do. It drooped over his eyes in a seductive way, but probably made it difficult to see.

The girl seemed so engrossed in analysing the boy that she didn't even notice when Judd began to get up. It was a shame - she was stunning and sweet-natured, from how she talked to her friends, and her bright orange eyes complimented her cyan tentacles perfectly. He hoped she was on his team - he would hate to have to splat her during the battle.

Finally, one last player entered. Judd sat down again and his paws tapped expertly on the ignition buttons. The stage was Walleye warehouse. A sudden pulling in Tonyo's chest caused him, and the others, to turn into squid form, and they were soon spawned into the stage.

As he shook away the ink and looked around him, the battle countdown being set, he noticed he was with the four friends - except for the cyan-tentacled girl.

"Well, shoot," he muttered. "Ah well." He looked back to the stage and mentally prepared himself, his hands caressing his Krak-on splattershot - a custom weapon made specially by the owner of the Krak-on brand - and hoped the battle would end in victory.

The countdown ended and they all leaped into action. He decided to follow the fancy-do guy, since he seemed confident. After a few moments they ran into their first opponent.

"Take this!" screamed the boy, getting the girl's attention. He threw a strange bomb which exploded and paralysed her. She managed to dodge the majority of the blast, but her foot was injured. She wasn't splatted, but the boy soon smacked down with his roller, sending her to spawn.

"You there," he said, annoyed. "Go cover the base or something. I got a bone to pick with miss N-Zap on the other team." His beak glimmered in the fading sunlight as he left.

Tonyo was confused. It was two minutes in, but he couldn't even see any players. He checked his map quickly and noticed that almost all the players on the enemy team were still on base. The other one was cornered by his teammates. Was it possible that you didn't respawn?

He warped quickly to his teammates to find out what was going on, but quickly backed away from the group. It seemed that something was wrong.

A N-Zap '89 lay at his feet, which he carefully picked up. It was the orange-eyed girl's. He hid in the ink and watched in horror as the fancy-do guy, apparently the leader of the group of friends, taunted the girl.

"What's wrong, Anasia? Stuck in the corner? Can't move?" he laughed cruely as his friends poured oil on her tentacles. She could do nothing as her ink was tainted black. It would never go back. His eyes widened as fancy-do pulled a sharp knife and sawed off her tentacles. Tonyo had had enough.

Hitching the N-Zap onto his tank, he quickly dispatched all his teammates as the game ended, then rushed to the girl's side as the countdown appeared. His teammates somehow left the game.

"My back-" she stuttered, coughing blood. He quickly destroyed an item, exactly like the paralyser used on the other girl, that seemed to be paining her. She fell silent and lay in the abandoned corner of the Walleye Warehouse.

Suddenly, the spawn points de-activated, and Tonyo's hair changed back to his natural, if not startling, colour; white. For a moment he was confused; then he realised that he was stuck there until the next group came along. Would she even last long enough?

He turned his attention to tending to her wounds, using his sister's varsity jacket as a stopper for the bleeding. Her life-ink, which was a dark orange, seeped through sickeningly as she moaned in pain.

"I knew," she muttered, gasping for breath, "that he was going to try something like this. I should have seen it coming. I should have stopped him." She continued with self-belittling comments until she was handed her N-Zap.

"If you weren't here," Tonyo said encouragingly, "I wouldn't have been able to use your N-Zap to splat my teammates and send them away." She remained silent, but smiled angelically, despite her grievous wounds. Then she fainted from ink loss.

He left the jacket on her to keep her warm and sat in the corner with her, unable to do anything but wait. He tearfully hoped she would live. It wasn't just about winning her anymore. He felt ink trickle helplessly down his face,which he buried into his hands. He held his Krak-on Splattershot loosely, not even caring if he dropped it anymore. It wasn't like he would just get warped out of the match spot anyway.

A group soon came, and stared in shock as two young, newly formed squids huddled in a corner. One had bright white tentacles, while the other was a dark black in colouration. The black-tentacled girl seemed to be dead.

They were soon at a hospital, but it was already too late for her. She would never be able to battle - black ink was out of the question - and anyway, her body was entirely paralysed form the torso down. She would have no quality of life. The head doctor walked out, head hung low, as he announced sadly to onlookers that she had died. A white-tentacled boy burst into tears and swiftly ran away.

Turning back, he felt bad telling the boy this - but it would just make it worse for them to see her as she was. He re-entered only to find the girl gone, and the third-story window wide open. Rushing over and looking out, all he could see was darkness, surrounded by near-invisible raindrops that seared his skin.


End file.
